Absolutely Mario - Farmingdale

We visited Absolutely Mario on a relative who loves the place's recommendation. It is tucked away in a commercial area of Farmingdale, off of 110. When we arrived, we were immediately greeted and noticed the rustic decor and fireplace in the room, albeit a bit dated. We were seated next to what would later be a very large party as the tables were set up early.

Our waiter came over to take our drink orders and he had such a classic Italian accent. It was a nice touch as he told us the specials. We decided on the Mozzarella Mariusco which is fried mozzarella with lemon and white wine sauce for an appetizer. When it came to the table, it wasn't what we were expecting. It was two rather small pieces of fried mozzarella smothered in a lemon white wine sauce and covered in capers, so it was no longer crispy like you'd want it to be. Despite it having all these components to it, it didn't taste like anything unless you put capers in the bite, and when you do that, you only taste capers. For $9, it was barely enough for one person for an appetizer so it was a big disappointment.

For an entree, I chose the Canecotte which is a stuffed canneloni and a stuffed manicotti, one with meat the other with ricotta cheese. While it was filling and tasted great, it didn't come with anything on the side, not what you'd expect for $18. I finished off my plate by dipping bread into my leftover sauce. Mike ordered the Salmon Bianco, a roasted salmon with lemon, capers and a white wine sauce. He was pretty disappointed when he saw the size of the salmon as it was brought to the table. Again, not what you'd expect for $20. At least it came with a side, which he chose pasta with garlic and olive oil. It was definitely needed to complete the meal. At least it all tasted good.

Since we were there to celebrate two birthdays, when it came time for dessert, we told the waiter to split the italian ice cream cake between the two, my mother in law and daughter. We decided to just get cappuccinos as our dessert. A few of the waitstaff came out with the dessert and sung happy birthday, it was nice.

Throughout the night, the service was terrific. No complaints with that aside from the fact that it would've been nice to be seated a little further from the large party. They had a child in a highchair right next to our table and the parents thought it was a great idea to let the toddler watch videos on their iPad on full volume. There were plenty of other tables we could've been seated at but they didn't know the party would be disruptive.

One of the first things I had to do when we got there was change our youngest child's diaper.. as well as his entire outfit. Unfortunately, there was no changing table to be found so that was quite the task maneuvering in the small stall space between the toilet and the door.

I don't think we'll be back to Absolutely Mario. While it might have your typical Italian fare, it isn't anything extraordinary and you can get tastier and larger portions of food for the same price or less at other restaurants.